Private company to assume building inspections, plans examination
Peachtree City will be eliminating its building department as of May 1.
Instead the city will contract with SAFEbuilt Georgia, Inc. to handle building department functions such as inspections and the like.
It’s no secret that the economy has drastically slowed all building construction, and this move is a nod toward that trend, as there’s no telling when the building industry will pick back up again.
So far this year the city has conducted 769 inspections compared with 3,894 in fiscal year 2009 and 5,179 in fiscal year 2008. There have been only 10 single family building permits sought this year and just 33 commercial or industrial permits.
The changes will not result in any job losses, as Building Official Tom Carty is due to retire April 30. Of the other three building department employees, the staff assistant would be the sole remaining building employee, according to the city’s plan. The building inspector would transfer to the development inspector role in the fall upon the current development inspector’s retirement and the existing housing code official would be transferred to a new department.
Last April the city eliminated three other jobs in the building department due to the building slowdown.
SAFEbuilt’s services would cost the city 90 percent of the current residential permit fees assessed and 80 percent of its commercial permit fees, the memo said. The remainder would be kept by the city to offset building department costs.
SAFEbuilt has provided building and plans inspection services among others for Senoia, Union City, Chattahoochee Hills, Johns Creek Milton, and Tyrone.
